Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater

In 1985, former oil rig worker Richard Linklater began a film screening society in Austin, Texas, that aimed to show classic art-house and experimental films to a budding community of cinephiles. Eventually incorporating as a nonprofit, the newly branded Austin Film Society raised enough money to fly in their first out-of-town filmmaker: James Benning. Accepting the invitation, Benning met Linklater and the two began to develop a personal and intellectual bond, leading to many future encounters. Starting in the 1960s, Benning had been creating low budget films mostly on his own, while Linklater had just begun to craft his first shorts. The filmmakers have remained close even as their careers have diverged. After the cult success of Slacker, Linklater went on to make films with Hollywood support. Benning, meanwhile, has stayed close to his roots and is mainly an unknown figure in mainstream film culture. Working with producer André S. Labarthe (Cinéma de notre temps), Gabe Klinger set out to document the friendship of Benning and Linklater over the course of a few days in Texas, while the two presented Benning’s films at the Austin Film Society, played baseball, and visited old shooting locations. Combining this newly filmed material with extensive archival elements, Double Play attempts to find Benning and Linklater’s similarities and at the same time contrast their disparities.